by Patty Blount
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Release Date: Aug 1, 2012
Source: sent by publisherMy Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Summary from goodreads.com:
To keep his secrets, all he has to do is listen to the voice in his head and just walk away...
On his first day at his new high school, Dan stops a bully from beating up a kid half his size. He didn't want to get involved. All he wants out of his senior year is to fly under the radar. But Dan knows what it's like to be terrorized by a bully-he used to be one. Now the whole school thinks he's some kind of hero, except Julie Murphy, the prettiest girl on campus. She looks at him like she knows he has a secret. Like she knows his name isn't really Daniel.
My Review:
This book was very interesting. I didn't always love it, but it was so intriguing that I found myself always wanting to read more. I'm not sure I'm totally in love with the bully's point of view scenario, but it's definitely a new twist on the bullying story. The author has a lot of sympathy for the bully, and I did like the aspect of learning to forgive yourself.
There were a lot of secrets in the book, and the reader waits a long time to figure out the details of what really happened before Dan/Ken (Ken changed his name to Dan) went to "juvie". In a way, that was good, because it made me want to keep reading, but in another way I would have liked to have had all the details from the start.
The character of "Kenny" was definitely something new and interesting. Kenny is the 13 year old version of Dan, the age he was when the crime was committed. But only Dan can talk to Kenny and only sometimes does he actual appear in "real life". It was extremely well done symbolism for learning to forgive yourself.
Main Characters: 4/5
Supporting Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line: I think fans of teen social issues books will really like this one, told from a reformed bully's point of view.
Check out Patty's guest post here!
I saw this book but I wasn't sure about requesting it because I don't know how I feel about reading the POV of a bully. You do make this sound very interesting, though, and I like the message of forgiving yourself.
ReplyDeleteDunno really, I just can't say about this one
ReplyDeleteI think this is book has great potential as a YA read. Many kids don't see themselves as bullies, and therefore wouldn't automatically see the bully POV, but the story shows how bullying harms everyone involved--not just the victims. I have it on my TBR list, and I generally don't read YA novels.
ReplyDelete